Cuomo Seeking Resolution to City Homelessness Funding Impasse

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo before a news conference at the New York State Museum on March 20.

AP

UPDATED | New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pursuing a resolution to an impasse with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in the city’s attempt to secure access to state funds to launch a new program to help the homeless move out of shelters, an aide to the governor said Wednesday.

Mr. Cuomo “is trying to actively resolve the homeless issue,” the governor’s aide said. “He has worked on homeless issues nationwide and is exploring different ways to resolve this problem.”

The state budget, as proposed by Mr. Cuomo, specifically bars the city from receiving state funds to create a new rental-subsidy program to move the homeless to permanent housing, one of Mr. de Blasio’s campaign promises. Mr. de Blasio – along with the City Council and advocates for the homeless — are asking that the language that bars the city from tapping state funds for this type of program be eliminated from the state budget.

Maibe Ponet, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said, “We know Gov. Cuomo deeply cares about addressing the homelessness crisis, and we look forward to continuing our work together for an immediate plan to help working families exit shelter and into private housing.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Cuomo accused Mr. de Blasio and his administration of failing to present the governor’s staff with a formal proposal for a new rental-subsidy program. The governor said Tuesday that it was “too late” in the budget process to move forward on a significant issue such as this one. The state budget is due next week.

In the 1990s during former Mayor David Dinkins’s administration, Mr. Cuomo headed a commission that urged a major overhaul of the city’s shelter system, including rent subsidies to help the homeless pay for housing.

“Homelessness is at a record high here in New York City and if we don’t take action now it will only get worse,” said Councilman Stephen Levin, who heads the council’s Committee on General Welfare. “We stated unequivocally today that it is crucial that the state remove this restrictive language from its budget.”

On Tuesday, Mr. de Blasio attributed the impasse to a “miscommunication” and vowed to “fix it” quickly.

In 2011, as state officials were scrambling to balance a $10 billion deficit, Albany cut funding for the city’s existing rental-subsidy program, known as Advantage, leading the city to cancel the program altogether. The program’s cancellation resulted in an influx of more than 10,000 people into city shelters; there are currently more than 52,000 people, including more than 22,000 children, sleeping each night in a city shelter.

Started in 2007, Advantage offered help with two years of rent to move people from shelter to permanent housing. Mr. de Blasio has said he intends to develop a similar program and hopes to get state and federal funds to support it.

“We obviously know that we have a really serious homeless crisis in the city and we need to all put our attention to it and find solutions to help people transition to permanent (housing),” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who has testified in Albany on this subject.